Chapter 1 The Weather is Getting Colder

Zheng Fan began,

"The weather is really getting colder and colder."

The Princess Consort then said,

"Please, General, come inside and warm yourself."

"Then, thank you, Princess Consort."

"You're too kind, General."

The Princess Consort walked ahead, and Zheng Fan followed behind. The two walked out of the pavilion and headed towards the backyard.

Outside the pavilion, the Heir Apparent watched his mother and Zheng Fan walk towards the backyard, trembling all over, his fingernails already embedded in his flesh.

Then, his gaze suddenly fell on the few maids and eunuchs.

A look of astonishment also appeared in the eyes of these maids and eunuchs.

At this moment, the Blind Man Bei said,

"There are Silver Armor Guards among them, kill them!"

Instantly, dozens of armored soldiers immediately drew their weapons and hacked at the eunuchs and maids.

In an instant, several maids and eunuchs were all killed.

The Heir Apparent breathed a sigh of relief.

The Blind Man then walked to the Heir Apparent's side and said,

"Your Highness, even if you don't trust my general, you should trust the Princess Consort."

"This..."

The Heir Apparent bit his lip and said,

"I, I didn't..."

"My general probably has more important matters to discuss with the Princess Consort, or perhaps the Princess Consort has extremely important matters to discuss with my general.

I think you should know what they will talk about, Your Highness."

The Heir Apparent seemed to have thought of something, and his breathing began to quicken.

"Your Highness, tonight, my general is in charge of all matters in Chuzhou City. My general is highly appreciated by the Marquis of Zhenbei and the Marquis of Jingnan of Great Yan, as well as His Majesty.

Although his official position is not high now, his future is limitless."

"I, I..."

"Your Highness, you need to be more mature and not let people see through your thoughts so easily."

"Thank you, thank you, General, for your teachings. Yuan Nian is enlightened."

"Your Highness is too kind. Oh, right, these armored soldiers are all my general's private soldiers. They won't spread a word to the outside world. You can rest assured, Your Highness."

"That's good, that's good."

The Blind Man Bei stood still again and stopped speaking.

The young friend next to him was too low-level. Although he understood a little about the principles of enduring humiliation, he was still the son of a vassal king, and there was a big gap between him and the princes who had to live in the deep palace since childhood.

However, it seemed that this kind of person was easier to support to the throne.

Tsk, tsk,

Zhong Wendao's daughter, Zhong Wendao's grandson,

Heh heh,

This matter,

Is interesting.

………

The Princess Consort personally opened the door and entered the room. Charcoal basins were already burning inside, and there were no servants serving.

Zheng Fan walked to the chair and sat down.

The Princess Consort took the initiative to kneel between Zheng Fan's legs.

Immediately afterward,

The Princess Consort personally picked up one of Zheng Fan's boots, helped Zheng Fan take off the boot, and then, with a very gentle movement, took off the other one.

Afterwards, the Princess Consort skillfully placed Zheng Fan's boots next to the charcoal basin.

All these movements were very natural. Zheng Fan sat naturally, and the Princess Consort did it naturally.

"General, are you tired?"

As she spoke, the Princess Consort began to massage Zheng Fan's legs.

Zheng Fan enjoyed this service,

Leaning over slightly,

He brought his face closer to the Princess Consort's face.

The flames of the charcoal basin reflected on the Princess Consort's face, making it look a little flushed.

"I'm curious, people who do business like to calculate the investment and the returns. Is what you're doing worth it?"

"General is joking. I've heard of the General's name, including the General's act of deposing a prince in Yanjing."

Hearing this, Zheng Fan leaned back in his chair again, closed his eyes slightly,

And said,

"I have to say, your proposal is indeed very tempting, but I still don't think it's very necessary to do so."

The Princess Consort then asked,

"Why?"

"There are three reasons. First, whether your Fu Royal Mansion can stand up at all."

Throughout history, with the exception of the emperor's main family dying out and the throne being inherited in a way similar to Emperor Jiajing inheriting Emperor Zhengde's throne.

The rest could only be achieved through rebellion. However, the Fu Royal Mansion, as a royal mansion, had lived too cautiously in the past. Not to mention whether it had raised private soldiers or made friends with civil and military officials, it was estimated that it did not even have much real prestige in this Chuzhou City.

"General, you should be clear that the Fu Royal Mansion only occupies the name of the Zhao family. What is truly pinned on is still on my father, on the Western Army generals."

The Western Army was the most capable military *fanzhen* (military command) group in the Qian Kingdom, and Zhong Wendao was the leader of many generals in the Western Army.

"The problem lies here. The Zhong family has been the leader of the Western Army for a long time, but you can still be betrothed to a vassal king. This means that you should not be the eldest daughter of the Zhong family."

"The General is right, I am indeed a concubine."

In this era, the difference between a concubine and the eldest daughter was very big.

"So, do you think your father, that Lord Zhong, will abandon his nearly lifelong reputation of loyalty to the emperor for the sake of a concubine, for the sake of a grandson born to a concubine, and defect to my Great Yan?"

"How can we know if we don't try?" The Princess Consort's hand began to move more and more inward.

But Zheng Fan reached out and stopped it.

Thanks to accompanying Si Niang (Fourth Sister) to do needlework every day,

Zheng Fan was still pretty good at resisting in this regard, especially at this time, which was not the right time to be overwhelmed by lust.

"This is not a matter of trying, but you and I both know that even if the Heir Apparent is established as Emperor, it will only play a role in dividing and splitting the Qian Kingdom. In the end, the Heir Apparent will still abdicate. At most, he will be granted the title of Marquis.

Oh, you should know that according to the system of my Great Yan, a Marquis is already the top rank for a non-royal. Even if my Great Yan Emperor grants a special grace and gives a royal title in the end.

But it's just an empty royal title with no real power. What is Lord Zhong after?

If he really cares about this, wouldn't it be more convenient for my Majesty to directly bestow the title of Prince of Pingxi on Lord Zhong?"

"This move can arouse the imperial court's suspicion of my father and the Western Army."

"It may indeed have this effect. It can drive a wedge between the monarch and his ministers, but I have already discovered that the *xiang gongs* (chancellors) in the Qian Kingdom's court are not all fools.

Especially now that it is still a time of national war, once this move is made, no matter what the *xiang gongs* think in their hearts, no matter what the Qian Emperor thinks in his heart, on the surface, they will instead redouble their efforts to bestow rewards on the Zhong family, and at the same time, give the Zhong family more power and trust on the surface.

In this way, it is actually a loss for my Great Yan."

The Princess Consort's movements stopped.

Zheng Fan then continued,

"The third reason is not because I, this Yan barbarian in your eyes, am arrogant and conceited;

Although I admit that the Western Army is indeed a capable army,

But I don't think the Western Army can really stop my Great Yan's iron cavalry.

Since it can be solved with a knife, why bother taking off your pants to fart?"

A look of disappointment appeared on the Princess Consort's face.

She was a smart woman, but her limitations were still great.

Zheng Fan closed his eyes and tapped his thigh lightly with his fingers. He was giving the Princess Consort time to think.

The reason why he chose to come to this room with the Princess Consort, and the reason why he would sit here and say so much, was naturally not to find reasons to refuse this Princess Consort,

But,

Zheng Fan had his own calculations in his heart.

After a while,

The Princess Consort raised her head,

Looking at Zheng Fan,

Her eyes were full of tears, making her look pitiful,

And said,

"Please teach me, General."

Zheng Fan opened his eyes. Seeing the woman's expression at this time, he really felt a little pity in his heart.

But emotions were emotions, and business was business.

Zheng Fan said,

"Letting my Great Yan establish the Heir Apparent as the Qian Emperor, helping him to the throne, at least, as far as I can see now, the time is not ripe. I can tell you responsibly that neither the two *hou yes* (marquises) who personally led the army this time nor my Majesty, who is far away in Yanjing, will do such a thing at this time.

We Yan people believe more in the *madao* (cavalry saber) in our hands than in these fancy twists and turns.

What you want can only happen after my Great Yan's offensive is frustrated.

But then the problem comes, if my Great Yan's offensive is frustrated, without the protection of my Great Yan's iron cavalry, even if the Heir Apparent ascends the throne, can he hold on to this dragon throne that has not yet been warmed up?"

The Princess Consort bit her lip tightly, almost drawing blood.

Zheng Fan reached out and grabbed a strand of the Princess Consort's hair, twirling it gently between his fingers.

The Princess Consort looked at Zheng Fan with a mournful expression.

She hated it now.

And Zheng Fan, after spending a long time with the seven strangely characterized Demon Kings, was good at observing such details.

He saw hatred in her eyes.

He killed her husband,

But she had to deliberately please this man in front of her,

However, what she sought was almost completely disintegrated under his words.

She hated why her husband had died so inexplicably,

She hated that her husband had broken his own arms early in order not to be suspected by the imperial court, and completely curled up in the Royal Mansion,

She hated that now, apart from her still-unaging body, there seemed to be nothing that could make the man in front of her take another look.

"You are a smart woman." Zheng Fan said, "And a very beautiful woman."

The Princess Consort looked at Zheng Fan, waiting for Zheng Fan to continue.

"Also, let me tell you one more thing, at the latest the day after tomorrow, my army will withdraw from Chuzhou City."

This was no secret anymore, because the departure was imminent, even if the Princess Consort leaked the secret, it would be of no value.

Perhaps at this time, the other Yan Kingdom iron cavalry were already inserting into the hinterland of the Qian Kingdom at a faster speed.

"The most important thing is that you need patience."

Zheng Fan stood up from the chair and continued,

"You and your son must live well. Only by living can you wait for the opportunity and be qualified to wait. At present, your son has no possibility of ascending the throne, but it does not mean that there will be no possibility in the future.

I believe that this day will not be too long, as long as you believe me."

Zheng Fan said "believe me," not "believe Great Yan."

"General..."

"I can promise you this opportunity. When the time is right, you can wait for me to come over. I will push your son to the throne."

Zheng Fan smiled,

"Of course, you can not believe it, because I am just a small *shou bei* (garrison commander) now, but what you need to do is just wait and see anyway, and there will be no loss.

Today's meeting should be regarded as a familiarization between you and me for future cooperation, a preliminary preparation.

Of course, you can also find another general and tell him your thoughts, but believe me, you will not get the result you want. On the contrary, you will lose my patience.

I think,

The reason why your husband died at the hands of my men,

Perhaps,

Is a manifestation of the *yuan fen* (predestined affinity) between you and me."

"Hiss..."

Outside, the Blind Man Bei heard these words and felt a pain in his teeth.

Listen,

I killed your husband, which proves that you and I have *yuan fen* (predestined affinity)!

How shameless do you have to be to say such a thing?

Zheng Fan's hand couldn't help but touch the Princess Consort's delicate face.

The Princess Consort did not resist. In fact, she was already prepared.

In a chaotic world, the fate of a Princess Consort was often more miserable than that of ordinary commoner women.

Their originally noble status would instead become playthings for the imperial nobles to exchange and play with.

Zheng Fan took a deep breath and exhaled heavily.

Finally,

Garrison Commander Zheng still controlled himself and guarded his clarity.

"General, the words you just said really don't sound like the words a minister should say."

"These words sound like the words the Princess Consort just said, as if they were words a Qian Kingdom Princess Consort should say."

"General, then I will be waiting for you. Or, can you first receive a little bit of my sincerity?"

"Master."

The Blind Man's voice sounded in Zheng Fan's heart.

"What's wrong?"

"There's a third person outside the wall of this room."

Zheng Fan's footsteps suddenly stopped.

A third person?

"Yes, Master, just sneaked over."

"Then what are you doing?"

"This subordinate is already standing behind her now."

"............" Zheng Fan.

Zheng Fan turned his head to look at the Princess Consort standing behind him, frowned, and said,

"I'm not in a hurry."

"Is it that this concubine is not worthy of the General's attention?"

"No, I said, you are really beautiful."

"Is it that this concubine's status doesn't move the General's heart at all?"

"A little bit."

"The status of a Princess Consort can't arouse the General's interest?"

"It's still not as good as the Empress Dowager."

"Hehehehe..."

The Princess Consort covered her face and smiled.

Zheng Fan also smiled and said in his heart:

"Confirm there's no danger?"

"This subordinate is watching her."

"Who is he?"

"Looking at the way he's dressed, he should be a noble in the Royal Mansion. He might be one of Fuwang's (Prince Fu) small wives."

"Then I'll go out?"

"Please rest assured, Master. This subordinate will take care of the aftermath."

"Okay."

Zheng Fan waved his hand at the Princess Consort behind him,

Opened the door,

And walked out of the room.

After Zheng Fan came out, Prince Fu cupped his hands at Zheng Fan, his expression and posture looking a little awkward.

Perhaps, it was really because Zheng Fan's current "identity" was too complicated for this young man.

"Heir Apparent, please take care of your health."

"The General too."

Zheng Fan smiled and walked past the Heir Apparent. The armored soldiers began to close ranks, escorting Zheng Fan away from the Royal Mansion.

After leaving the Royal Mansion, Zheng Fan continued to wander the streets.

Not long after, Zheng Fan saw the Blind Man walk out of the shadows of a side alley.

"Resolved?" Zheng Fan asked.

The Blind Man nodded.

"Who was that woman?"

"It's the Heir Apparent's consort."

"Hehe, this Qian Kingdom Emperor really likes to give his subordinates wives. Hahaha."

Zheng Fan paused,

And asked,

"Where's the person?"

"Dead."

"How did she die?"

"Drowned in the pond."

"Couldn't you have chosen a slightly gentler way?"

"This subordinate didn't do it."

"Hmm?"

"After you left, Master, the Princess Consort called the Heir Apparent over. It was the Princess Consort who had the Heir Apparent drown his Heir Apparent's consort in the pond in the backyard."

"Well, she's really a vicious woman. In that case, our Si Niang is still more lovable."

The Blind Man took a breath, and the scene of Si Niang's torture tonight appeared in his mind,

Then,

He responded very sincerely:

"That's natural."